The Severn Bore waves have been impressive this weekend following the solar eclipse and Supermoon, when the Earth and Moon are as close to each other as they can be. The rare alignment of the Earth, Moon and Sun means tides are especially strong.

Hundreds of surfers and even more spectators flocked to the UK’s longest surfing waves on the River Severn.

In the video at the bottom of this page you can see members of the Kingsurf Surf School riding waves on Saturday morning.

Surfers riding a wave on the Severn River on Saturday morning. (Image: Kingsurf Surf School)

A bore, tidal bore or bore wave is a tidal phenomenon when the leading edge of an incoming tide creates a wave which travels in the opposite direction of a narrow bay’s or river’s current.

Waves many miles long

The Severn bore can continue for miles, which for surfers is the ultimate dream. The world record for riding the bore on the Severn River is just over seven miles by railway engineer Steve King in 2006 – he rode the wave for 1 hour and 17 minutes.

The Severn bore forms slightly upstream of Sharpness and goes all the way to Maisemore. On super high tide days it can reach as far as Upper Lode Lock below Tewkesbury.

The Severn River has the third largest tidal range in the world – about 49 feet (15 metres), after the Bay of Fundy and Ungava Bay, both in North America.

Last month there were some impressive bore waves on the Severn River. A flying drone captured amazing video footage of keen surfers riding waves that seemed to go on forever.

Mont Saint-Michel

Huge tides have hit the coasts of northern France and Southern England this weekend. Meteorologists in France say tidal surges should reach a height of 46 feet (14 metres), which is as high as a 5-storey building.

Thousands of people have travelled to the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, which is connected to the mainland by a half-mile causeway, to witness the phenomenon.